Evening Standard comment: Mr Cameron’s EU struggle grinds on

The Government’s Europe woes are not going away. Today Chancellor George Osborne is in Brussels to argue against the EU’s demand for an additional £1.7 billion from Britain. The PM has bullishly said that the UK will not pay the additional contribution, calculated on the basis of Britain’s economy doing better than expected. But today Mr Osborne merely said that he will, more modestly, “make sure we get a better deal for Britain”. Brussels has said that it will impose interest charges from December 1, when the payment is due, though the possibility of Britain paying in instalments has also been mooted.

More important is Mr Cameron’s effort there to build support for a renegotiation of EU rules in order to slash migration. To have any chance of success, he needs allies: the Nordic leaders are probably his best hope. Yet both the Swedish and Norwegian prime ministers have poured cold water on the idea, emphasising the importance of freedom of movement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has likewise already sounded a sceptical note.

In truth, Mr Cameron is in such a rush, thanks to Ukip pressure, that he is unlikely to deliver change in time. He has promised a major speech on immigration before Christmas, perhaps fleshing out the idea of an “emergency brake” on migration. Even that it unlikely before the Rochester and Strood by-election on November 20, where the polls point to a Ukip victory. Mr Cameron may well have to swallow that loss before he rebuilds the Tories’ defences against Ukip.

Labour jitters

Labour’s narrow poll lead has long been vulnerable to the perceived weakness of leader Ed Miliband: voters rate him lower than they do his party. But this week the worries inside Labour have come into the open. Today senior backbencher Margaret Hodge warns that Mr Miliband must learn to communicate with the public better, while two other Labour MPs have reportedly called for him to go. That is extremely unlikely to happen. There is nowhere near the kind of open opposition needed under party rules to trigger a leadership contest; Mr Miliband has no clear successor or challenger; and even critics recognise that a change of leader so close to the election, six months away today, would be disastrous.

Nevertheless, Mr Miliband does need to do a better job of communicating. Partly it is his personal style. But the biggest issue is his failure, as yet, to set out an overarching narrative, a vision for the difference that Labour would make, beyond the detail of policies such as his proposed energy price freeze. As the polls stand, with Labour’s lead eroding to almost nothing, a hung parliament is looking more and more likely. That is hardly a result to enthuse Mr Miliband, his party — or the electorate.